Curvy Opinion: 10 things I wish I’d known when I started sewing

As a new CSC Editor, one thing that I’ve learned from reading your comments, emails, and forum posts is that a lot of our readers are just getting started on their sewing and fitting journeys. This theme of “just starting out” came up several times in the comments section to Rosie’s kick-off post in The Peculiarities of Plus Size Sewing Series. To that end, I’ve compiled a list of my own personal “10 things I wish I’d known when I started sewing”. The list is a bit of a hodgepodge of things, but these are all things that I had to learn the Hard Way. I’m hoping that I can save some of you a few wadders, some time, and some frustration with this post.

Not all of the items on this list are specific to curvy sewing, but these are all things that I wish that I knew about when I started sewing. Note that several items on here are specific to my own uber-busty body type, YMMV.

10. Invest in a pressing ham.

A pressing or tailor’s ham is available for less than $10 from sources like Wawak. You’re going to need to press things like darts, and princess seams, and if you press them over a curved surface, they’ll look a heck of a lot better than if you press them on a flat ironing board.

Pressing Ham or Tailor’s Ham

9. Side zippers + giant boobs + short t-rex arms = frustration.

In my experience, side zippers aren’t all that common in RTW; however, you frequently see them appear in dress, skirt, and pant sewing patterns. As a newbie seamstress, it took me a few seldom-worn garments to realize that my arms just can’t reach around my giant boobs to easily zip and unzip a side zipper without risking throwing out my back.

Now when I see a side zipper in a sewing pattern, I simply move the zipper placement to the Center Back (CB) seam of the garment. This takes some planning ahead of time and often means altering the pattern construction order, but it’s an easy fix.

(Obviously, this point doesn’t apply to everyone. If you don’t have giant boobs or short t-rex arms, you probably love side zippers, and rightfully so.)

Unfortunately, no pattern maker currently offers pattern cup sizes up to a G or H cup, but an increasing number are offering patterns drafted for a D or occasionally even a DD cup. If you need to FBA up to a G cup, starting with a D-cup bodice will give you a much more reasonably sized FBA to perform than starting with the standard B-cup bodice. All of the Big 4 pattern makers offer a small selection of patterns up to at least a D-cup, and a growing number of indie pattern companies draft for a C-cup or larger.

Simplicity’s cup size patterns

7. Use the excess ease from Big 4 patterns to your advantage.

Particularly for non-fitted styles, if you’re just a bit above the typical size range for Big 4 patterns, you may very well be able to fit nicely into a size 22 or 24 without having to grade up, even if the company’s size chart states that you should really be sewing a size 26.

6. Invest in a fold-away cutting table, and ideally, a rotary mat and cutter setup.

When I started sewing, I did all of my PDF taping, pattern tracing, pattern alterations, and fabric cutting on the floor on one of those cardboard fold-out grids that you can buy at JoAnn’s for $10. Not only does that setup not work so well when you have cats, it can be difficult on your knees and back, and it makes for less accurate cutting.

My feline assistant

Finally, I upgraded to a small, inexpensive, fold-away cutting table and a rotary mat/cutter setup. My whole world changed. No longer did I have to worry about finding a safe place to set half-finished pattern alterations–I could just leave the pieces out until I had a chance to finish them. I could cut out a dress in 5-10 minute increments that I could grab here and there. The nice thing is that I can wheel everything unobtrusively away when I’m not using it, so being space-challenged isn’t an issue.

5. Some design elements that look great on a pattern model translate in unexpected ways to a larger, curvy figure.

Learn what design elements behave unexpectedly on a curvy figure, and expect to either modify these elements for your body or just avoid them. One classic example of this issue is slant pockets on pants or skirts that gape open on figures that have a bit of a tummy. (BTW, I’ll be writing an upcoming post on troubleshooting this issue.)

Pocket gape in pant muslin

Other times, these issues crop up in less obvious ways. Pleating details and pintucks in blouses can open up over a full bust as your bust “steals” some of the horizontal width from those details. (Hint: Your FBA can help with this.)

4. Washaway Wonder Tape: It’ll change your life.

I am embarrassed to admit that I had not been introduced to what is now my favorite sewing notion until a little over a year ago, when Colette Patterns introduced their knitwear line of patterns and companion book to sewing with knits. The book contained a tip that to stabilize a knit hem, use double-sided Washaway Wonder Tape.

I now use this stuff on everything that I previously hand-basted or used a million pins to baste (with the exception of setting in sleeves). Zippers? Washaway Wonder Tape. Keeping gathers from getting smushed or moving? Washaway Wonder Tape. And yes, it does work great to stabilize knit hems, as well.

Washaway Wonder Tape

A nice thing about this notion is that it’s readily available at both your big box fabric stores and at most online shopping sites that carry sewing notions.

3. There is no “magic bullet” to fitting a curvy body.

*sigh* This was probably my biggest disappointment when I started sewing. When I signed up for my first “Intro to Sewing” class in my early 30’s, I naively thought that I’d be able to address this issue by simply choosing a larger pattern size for my top half than my bottom half.

Was I wrong! I quickly learned that I’d need to do this alteration called a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA). Okay, I can handle that…No, wait, my required FBA is so large that I have to create giant darts for it to work. Then I have to find out some way to deal with those darts! GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

I think I’ve tried just about everything to try to simplify my giant FBA issue, including fitting classes, Bernina custom-drafting software, Lekala custom-drafted patterns, and trying out different pattern lines that target larger cup sizes. I’ve had varying degrees of success with these methods, but not one of them gives me an “out of the envelope” solution to fitting my body.

Unfortunately, we all have to make pattern alterations, but unlike with RTW, at least fitting and sewing gives us some control over how our clothes fit.

(BTW–I’ve just started working through Suzy Furrer’s sloper series on Craftsy so that I can start self-drafting my patterns. I’ll let you know how that works out.)

2. Muslins are your friend.

Sometimes, I’m a little surprised at the lack of talk about muslins in the online sewing community. They can save you both the wasted time and money that comes with making a wadder garment. Muslins are not only for fitting perfectionists; they can also help you determine if a particular style will work well on your body, which can be particularly helpful if your body shape or size makes snoop shopping difficult.

I will admit that I probably don’t muslin patterns as often as I should, but I generally make at least a wearable muslin when any of the following circumstances apply:

I’m sewing pants.

The pattern is from a new-to-me designer.

My intended “real” fabric is on the pricey side.

I’m sewing a garment where at least some aspect is close-fitting.

The garment has bust darts. (I still haven’t been able to get a feel for where darts are going to sit/point on my body unless I try on at least a bodice shell in fabric.)

I make a non-trivial design change to the paper pattern and need to test how it will look.

Obviously, muslins don’t guarantee a successful final garment, but they greatly decrease your chance of sewing a wadder!

1. Sewing is supposed to be fun!

When you’re faced with your second wadder in a row or ready to throw out a pattern in frustration because you can’t figure out how to get rid of that diagonal dragline pointing from your bust to your hip, it’s easy to forget that for most of us, sewing is a hobby. If you’re feeling frustrated, it’s okay to put that project aside and move onto something else.

No one is going to care if you don’t sew your own dress for that wedding that’s coming up in three days; make due with something from your closet, or buy something from the mall, if you can!

Final Thoughts

I hope this list gives our less experienced readers some new tips and tricks to try in their sewing. For our more experienced sewists, what are some tricks and tricks that you wish you had known when you started sewing?

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About Michelle

I live in Seattle with my husband, 6-year-old daughter, three cats, and two dogs. I work as a technical writer for a large tech company.

As an adult, I've worn every RTW size from a 10 to a 20, always with a larger size on top. I've been sewing since 2007 and love being able to make things that I actually enjoy wearing, rather than being confined to "Well, I guess it fits" from RTW. Michelle used to blog at: Happily Caffeinated

Comments

Great list. I was lucky that my first sewing shopping trip was with a smart friend so I got the self-healing cutting mat and a rotary cutter from the start! I will also add to the list – ironing the tissue pattern! I just learned that it is possible! now I just need to get into making muslins and getting a pressing hem.

Great list. I was lucky that my first sewing shopping trip was with a smart friend so I got the self-healing cutting mat and a rotary cutter from the start! I will also add to the list – ironing the tissue pattern! I just learned thatit is possible! now I just need to get into making muslins and getting a pressing hem…

One of the first things I ever tried to sew at age 16 was some sort of costume pattern. It was such a frustrating experience and in the end I never finished it because it didn’t fit together. IIRC it involved a circle skirt with waistband. The problem was that the waistband was way too small for the circle. I remember I measured the pattern tissue and the inches didn’t line up at all and I “didn’t get it”. I didn’t sew anything again until I was like 22. It took me several more years after that before I came to understand that commercial patterns are riddled with flaws and mistakes that are insurmountable unless you know what you’re doing. So I missed like 6 years of sewing thinking I was stupid and couldn’t sew when really I had a terrible pattern designed by “Idiot” and graded by “Lazy”. Coincidentally I recently tried a Mccalls costume pattern and it was graded all wrong and the pieces as given didn’t fit together. I sighed and then redrafted all 13 pieces. Why do I try commercial patterns? Ugh.

Side zippers! They are the bane of my existence. My mom loves them, while curvy, and plus sized, she does not have giant boobs. My arms are not long enough to transverse the large tracts of real estate to reach the edge.

LOL! #9 for sure! My arms are average length, but my frame is wide and my bust very full, so it’s hard to reach my side seam with my opposite arm and the same-side arm just doesn’t bend that way. I LOATHE side zippers, and not just for the hard-to-reach aspect. I’ve never managed to install a lapped or centered side zip that wasn’t wonky in some way. Invisible zippers are a little easier, but they’re also weaker and have tinier pull-tabs to grasp (so they’re a bit pointless). I’ve started moving side zips to center backs, as well, when it won’t mess up the garment’s design lines.
And yes to muslins. Always. For every garment. I’ve learned the hard way, and it’s just not worth neglecting to muslin a pattern.

Great list! 🙂 Although I find it funny that even though we are similar in body (large chest, t-rex arms), I do not like back zippers in the slightest. I can’t reach back there to bring the zipper up. :/ Although, I don’t zip up the side zipper when I am wearing it. I put it on zipped up and then only use the zipper to take it off. All in all, shirt dresses with tons of buttons win me over. I am just not a huge fan of zippers in general. 😉

That’s funny–I don’t usually have too much trouble zipping up back zippers on myself, although I tend to do it bit-by-bit (pulling up the waistband to reach, zipping, pulling that down, then doing the rest of the zipper).

Great List…..I make clothing as it comes, never really thinking about a specific occasion to wear it…so not under pressure to finish or push my sewing….I want to enjoy every step along the way. Always have a dress or skirt and top that I can wear to most everything, along with tops/blouses and slacks….have only 2 slack patterns….I mean how many do you need?!

I wouldn’t recommend Suzy Furrer’s pants sloper class. I bought that class and got a refund. Her method involves Measuring the side seam length from waist to floor, measuring the inseam and the body depth is the difference between the two lengthwise. This might work for someone with a flat stomach but gives nowhere near enough length from waist to inner thigh for someone who’s plus-sized. I bought it to compare with the many pattern drafting books I have and it is really thorough but definitely didn’t result in a useable pattern.

I do highly recommend Barbara Deckert’s Craftsty class. REALLY, REALLY RECOMMEND IT. I have sewn and done my own drafting for years and learnt a lot of useful tips from her, particularly for fitting and sewing pants. Barbara does prefer to grade up & do a FBA on patterns which I don’t necessarily agree with. A poorly fitting pattern graded up is still a poorly fitting pattern after all but still got loads out of her class.

I did buy some of Suzy’s other classes such as sleeves and collars and have watched but not worked through them. I just don’t think her pattern making/drafting methods work well for plus-size people, especially in relation to bodice and pants. She uses “industry standard” measurements a lot in her drafting which won’t always work, particularly for plus-sizes.

Books and methods I have tried for pattern drafting are Kathy Illian’s “Body Mapping”. Really sensationally easy for creating bodice slopers. The only gripe I had is that if your belly protrudes beyond your bust, you are stuck with a princess line. Donald McCunn’s is the best pattern drafting book/method, I have found overall. He also has e-classes and a yahoo group for support.

Fantastic list. You know that ham is going to help with gaping pockets don’t you?

All of those points that you’ve brought up are why I’m not looking at Suzy’s class(es) as a magic bullet. I do know that she uses “industry standards”, and I clearly do not have an “industry standard” body. It seems like most people of all shapes and sizes have gotten pretty good results from the skirt class, though (the class that I’m starting with). From my casual, unscientific observation, it seems like most people have gotten the best results with the skirt sloper, then the bodice, and then the pants. I’ve read other reviews similar to yours for the pants class.

I’m completely new to pattern drafting, but I’m completely fascinated by dart manipulation, etc. I’m aware that Suzy’s methods might not work for me, but I figure that I have to start somewhere. I know that I learn better by attending classes/watching videos than I do trying to teach myself out of a book.

You know…a post comparing different pattern drafting methods would probably be a really fascinating guest post for the CSC if you were inclined to write one. 😉

Thanks for answering Michelle,
The number of different drafting methods I’ve tried meant that I found Suzy’s pants sloper class particularly disappointing, rather than something you can use as a base and then tweak. I knew I needed to re-do my slopers and was on holiday which is why I visited so many Craftsy classes. The collar and sleeves classes are definitely worth it. I haven’t bought the dart and seam manipulation one but I expect that to be good. Given the French method and industry standards being used, I wouldn’t buy the bodice drafting one either. The skirt may be OK but I found that easy enough without a class.
Pants slopers often work well if you do the skirt first. You can then use the pattern above the hip line as a starting point for your pants pattern knowing that section fits well. I had actually re-done my skirt sloper with my drafting books but found it didn’t fit well. It was a pencil type skirt with a pleat in the front using check fabric. Lined, invisible zip and basted so all the checks matched. I submitted a photo here of it. It was really uncomfortable when I sat down and was riding up at the back when I walked! Bitter disappointment given the amount of work I put in.
After watching Barbara Deckert’s class, I realised I should have measured my hips sitting on a hard surface and used that as my hip measurement. Really important. I tried sitting on a chair but it had padding and that measurement still didn’t work well. There’s a tip for you! Measure hips while sitting on a hard surface. I had used a hip measurement made while standing and that doesn’t allow for spread when you sit. At my current size, that is going to be an issue. I have since re-done my skirt sloper with the new hip measurement and it worked much, much better. I drafted a 6 gore skirt with a bit of flare and am pretty happy with it. Yes, I’m inclined to write a guest post. I’ll have a go and then send it to you and you can see what you think

When I started pressing all the things, every step of the way, my final product improved soooo much. Looking back at the garments I made when I first started the seams are so wonky! Also, walking feet are where it’s at for knits. I know some people can adjust the differential feed on their machine and use a regular foot but I could never figure it out so if you’re just starting and want to sew knits, just buy the walking foot. Oh, and straighten the grain on your fabrics after pre-washing… also something I wish I had known about when I first started.

Totally agree on the muslins. Once I just accepted I would need to sew a test garment, I got much more relaxed. I’ve actually started to buy old bedsheets at thrift stores to use for this purpose – the older and softer the better. (Solid colours only though. My mom bought me some patterned ones to help me out. Pretty hard to fit yourself with these!)

I think though the number one thing I would say to anyone starting out is, slow down. I always wanted to rush through projects at the beginning. Well, I still do. But I always get better results if I just slow down a bit!

For what its worth I only have a medium bust (based our your standards at least) and more like gorilla arms so I can totally zip a side zip but let me tell you if I’m not careful boy is their some delicate flesh there.

This is a great list, including the added tips in the comments. I am adding “French curve” ruler to the tips. When we are moving from one size to another on the pattern, a French curve can help duplicate the curved lines more easily. It it also helpful when altering seams of rtw, it blends better than a straight ruler.

I am interested to hear how your slopers go. I made myself slopers many moons ago and then kept changing shape and size, so never managed to use them more than once. I keep meaning to revisit that. I’m interested to know how they cope with large shape differences – am I still going to have to do an FBA on my sloper, basically, is what I’m wondering. Now that I know more, looking back on the one garment I sewed from my sloper, I think it did need one. Maybe that was just that particular sloper-creation technique. I know when I made mine the front and back waist measurements were the same (waist measurement divided in half) which is actually not at all the case for my real body. So I wondered if it was a similar thing.

“Side zippers + giant boobs + short t-rex arms = frustration”
This!
I laughed out loud when I read that but it’s so true, I just made a pair of trousers which actually FIT!! I felt like a master tailor, no weird pulling at the crotch, my bum even looked good ( I know this as I got my boyfriend to take an extreme close up picture for me so I could see if there was any problems with the fit – he doesn’t even look at me like I’m odd any more when I request things like this bless him) So I inserted the (EVIL) side zip attached the waistband and then…. couldn’t do them up! ha, the next pair will have the zip in the back. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that actually I was just about to torture myself trying to learn how to do a front fly or something.
Brilliant post.

Great post! I taught myself on an old Singer at age 13. I’m 56 now and still learning! I would just say to pay attention to the small stuff – like grading seams properly, measuring accurately, ironing properly (as I learned from Kenneth King- “Good pressing can save imperfect sewing, and bad pressing can ruin good sewing”), prewashing fabric, etc.
Also buy the best quality you can afford – very important with scissors and irons especially!

Great list, Michelle! I’m not a fan of side zippers, either, but I accidentally inserted one upside down one time (closing from the top to the bottom) and discovered that they’re much easier to open and close that way. Lean against a dresser to hold the bottom in place and then you only have to grab the fabric at the top side of the bodice/bust with the opposite hand to hold the zipper taut enough to close easily. So much easier to do than trying to reach around to your hip.

That’s a fantastic tip! I never thought of that. There’s a McCall’s dress pattern that I want to sew soon that uses a side zipper, and its design doesn’t easily lend itself to moving the zipper to CB like I normally do, so I might very well give that a try.

That is such a good idea! I can not do a back zipper up by myself so I usually go for side zips but they are cumbersom. Mostly I’ve been avoiding patterns with zippers at all because of this but upside down might fix it!

My teeny arms like the upside down side zipper as well. I also have found it easier to finish a side zip nicely, and am less likely to flex my back and unzip my dress (surPRIZE!).

I don’t use a slde slash pocket, for the very reason your photo illustrates. I’ve moved almost entirely to a jeans-style top opening one for all pants. If it’s a vertical opening, it’s in a field, a sea of gathers of extra fabric off the seam, towards the valley before the tummy mountain. Pocket Gulch. The beige areas are the pocket bags in the drawing.

In regards to fitting I was going to say try making a sloper. Kennith King or Lynda Maynard popped in my mind. Suzy Furrer uses the same method. I believe both she and Kenneth King learned from a woman named Simone. Their method is called French Pattern Drafting. It takes time to get all the measurements, do the calculations and draft. If you do it right you will have a sausage casing on your body and can add ease. What’s great about this method is your darts become NORMAL sized! Your shoulder slope is always there. Lynda Maynard wrote a book useing your sloper on commercial patterns. It makes alterations very apparent. I put my slopers on clear plastic (I think it was 3mm thick). I can look through the plastic and see where I need to change the shape of the commercial pattern.
I took my “sausage” muslin and put it on my dress form and filled the form according to the muslin. A nice body double.

Thank you for this list. For larger cup sizes, Connie Crawford offers patterns for A/B, C/D/DD(E),(DDD)F/G, and H/I, in sizes 8-20 or 1X-6X. See her web site at FashionPatterns.com and look for the Signature Collection. Some Connie Crawford patterns are published by Butterick, but she has many more patterns and products on her web site that are not available elsewhere.

All of the patterns come in sizes up to 6X, but only the slopers have the full range of cup sizes (A/B to H/I). There are slopers for a darted blouse, a vertical princess seam blouse, and an armhole princess seam blouse.

I’ve only ever gotten rid of it with a French dart or with princess seams. I’ve learned to just live with it with loose-fitting woven styles. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s found another solution, though!

I’ve googled until my eyes hurt and read so many fitting books. I seem to have this problem in half of my knit tops but not others. I can’t seem to get it. I even lay them side by side to see if the measurements are that “off” – to no avail! 🙂

The iron is your best friend! I tried to ignore this, but now we are best friends!
Change your sewing machine needles
Not all threads are the same
The fact that I’m petite, busty and curvy at the same time (uffff, how many garments gone to goodwill…)
Great Post!

Great list! This may be a bit controversial, but I think for certain personality types, my best tip is to just get started, and not to worry so much about fitting things the right way. This is really helpful for anyone who identifies as a perfectionist, gets analysis-paralysis, or tends to see things in black & white. When I first started out, I’d often make up a muslin, see that it needed alterations, but then I’d get so confused about what the proper adjustments were and how to do them, that I’d throw the pattern aside and would continue to the next, hoping the next one would magically sew up perfectly. I’d read some fitting books to try to figure out what was wrong, but it was all so confusing because I didn’t know enough about fitting to diagnose what was going on. Eventually I realized it was better to just start pinning out areas on my muslins that needed fixing, and make the alterations that way, rather than necessarily knowing the proper names and ways to do what I needed. Sure, this technique probably isn’t going to give you the best-ever fit, but it’s going to give you a fit you’ll be pretty proud of, which is way better than just doing nothing because you’re not sure what adjustments to try! And most importantly, just diving in even if I didn’t know what I was doing got me comfortable with assessing fit, and with understanding my own body better.

This brings me to my next tip–find a friend! Once I’d made a few garments and started to notice a trend in the adjustments I needed, I then started learning more about proper adjustments. I’d been FBA-ing from the start, but I always had weird wrinkling in the back bodice, the back waistline was always dipping down, and I always had excess fabric above the bust. My haphazard approach to fitting was working okay (I’d reshape the armscye, chop off some back waistline, and take up the front shoulder), but I wanted to put a name to the adjustments I was making and learn if there was a better way of doing it. I took one of my muslins to a local sewing meetup, and got some great advice from several sewists way more experienced than I was, and they helped me determine that what I should be doing is an FBA and a forward shoulder adjustment. I never would have recognized that I had forward shoulders on my own, and I also never would have thought that adjustment would actually fix all the problems I was having, but it did! From there, I continued to use and practice these adjustments, and they’re now the default adjustments I make on pretty much all patterns.

Sewing is really all about practice. So the best way to start getting practice is to just start doing it, and be okay with making mistakes and just taking your best stab at it. The more you practice, the better you’ll get, and all those fitting books and advanced patterns will start making a lot more sense! You’ll be helping others with fitting in no time!

I agree with this so much. Also, sew what you want to wear, because you will be invested in your outcome. Don’t start with a project you don’t care about, instead find a beginner’s version of something you WAAAAANT, because that will drive you!